Digital DLL apparatus for correcting duty cycle and method thereof

Abstract

A digital DLL apparatus and a method for correcting a duty cycle are disclosed. The digital DLL apparatus for correcting a duty cycle, includes: a buffer for producing a clock input signal; a delay line unit for receiving / delaying the clock input signal and outputting the clock input signal; a blend circuit for bypassing the first clock signal or producing a blended clock signal; a delay model unit for compensating a time difference of an external clock and an internal clock and generating a compensate clock signal; a direct phase detector for generating a first comparison signal; and a phase detector for generating a second comparison signal. The disclosed apparatus can correct the duty error by using the blend circuit and generate an internal clock signal having 50% of duty cycle.

Description

A digital delay locked loop DLL apparatus and a method for correcting a duty cycle are disclosed, which correct the duty cycle used in a semiconductor or a computer system which needs a clock generator for compensating a skew between an external clock and internal clock.DESCRIPTION OF RELATED ARTA delay locked loop (DLL) is a circuit widely used for synchronizing an internal clock and an external clock in a synchronous memory of a semiconductor memory system. In the synchronous RAM, all operations such as write or read are supposed to be operated at a rising edge. However, certain elements of the semiconductor device cause a timing delay. For synchronizing operation timing at the rising edge in the synchronous RAM, the time delay must be eliminated. The DLL circuit receives the external clock signal and generates the internal clock signal for synchronizing two signals in order to eliminate the timing delay.Various techniques have been used for controlling a clock signal of the DLL c...

AI Technical Summary

Problems solved by technology

However, certain elements of the semiconductor device cause a timing delay.

The above-mentioned conventional DLLs used in the DDR memory control a delay of whole phase based on a standard signal and compensated signal, however, the conventional DLLs cannot correct a phase delay caused by a duty error when data of external clock signal is processing, wherein the duty error is difference between real duty cycle and 50% duty cycle and it may be occurred during processing the external clock.

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